Glass Ceilings in Sweden and Thailand

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[pic 4] Fig 3: United Nations Development Programme’s research on Human Development Reports and Gender Inequality Index. Source: http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/GII

In the year 2014 The United Nations Development Programme conducted a research on human development reports where the Gender Inequality Index of Thailand ranks at 76 out of 188 countries and that of Sweden is at 6 (Human development report, 2015).

- CULTURAL ACCEPTANCE AND RELEVANCE IN SWEDEN AND THAILAND

The Nordic countries including Sweden have done more than any country in the world for women, yet they have been unable to break the glass ceiling. Some recon this could be due to unconscious prejudice while some believe it’s due to the woman giving up on her career building years to look after a child. Child care in Sweden is 7 times more expensive than what it is in America which leads to families not wanting to or being able to afford them (Economist, 2014). Parental leaves in Sweden are extremely generous. Parents get a total of 480 days together with each parent being able to use their leave for 420 days maximum until the child turns 8. This was introduced for fathers to take more responsibility in bringing up the child. Initially it was just 30 days compulsory for the other parent to use the leave, called the daddy – month. However in 2002 the government added the second daddy month (Reed, 2016) (Albrecht, 2014). This parental leave system may also be making the women suffer, as it encourages women to take long breaks from work to take care of their child while their male competitors are gaining experience and knowledge. Women are unable to do much about it too, as child care is expensive and so it affording domestic help. When women aren’t taking care of their children they are doing some household tasks. These policies that reduce the gender gap at the bottom may be increasing it at the top, as women still believe it is their role to do most of the child rearing while men bring home the bread (Economist, 2014). Thailand like most Asian countries is traditionally a patriarchal society. Many believe each gender has its own skill and responsibility, which usually dictates men to the economic or political spheres and women to the private or the household sphere where they can take on the family’s caregiving burden. There is a saying in the Thai society “สามีเป็นช้างเท้าหน้า ภรรยาเป็นช้างเท้าหลัง” which translates as “it’s a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock”, this refers to the stereotype of men being the leaders and women the followers (Amornivivat, 2015) (Gender equality and the labour market in Thailand, n.d.). Despite there being evidence of gender inequality in Thailand the public does not seem to be aware of it. This could mean that most people are not overtly discriminatory and hence it doesn’t exist prominently in society or it could show the low level of awareness people have about their society and have traditional social and gender norms engraved into their minds and thus don’t recognise their attitudes as biased (Amornvivat, 2015). The difference between the eastern and western society is that there is a discussion on women’s rights going on whereas, in Asian countries traditionally family issues are given higher priority (Sasiwimon, 2014). The class disparity is expanding in Thailand. Women in social classes of higher income and education have more opportunities to choose their occupation and even go into male dominated fields, especially those who have studied abroad and graduated from renowned universities will have higher wages. This encourages women of the lower class to search for a second job which will offer a low income and virtually no chance at a promotion; this can lead to an increase in the gender disparity in Thailand (Labour force discrimination in Thailand, n.d.)

- COMPANY & EDUCATION POLICIES

- COMPANY POLICIES

Companies must adopt gender equality policies to avoid any kind of discrimination towards women. While hiring companies should adopt are gender blind hiring and promotion so that there is a healthy gender mix at each level (Heffernan, 2016). Providing women with a board quota ensures them a spot in a specific group, but it does not help the women around the company as a whole (Economist, 2014). Companies should adopt sexual harassment policies when they wish for a safe workplace and to avoid legal exposure. Companies must create job descriptions that do not discriminate based on gender. Men and women must receive the same amount of money for a particular job (Feigenbaum, 2016). Some more policies companies should take up are including plenty women in challenging assignments. Ensuring senior women mentors take their roles seriously, allowing fathers to take parenting breaks and/or giving them flexible hours to do a school run instead of just the mothers. Fathers who take parenting roles should not be discouraged or penalised by employers (Economist, 2014). Companies must monitor regulations regarding pay equity, paid family leaves, closing the gender employment gaps, paying for childcare/ preschool and helping out with other problems that women or minorities face in the workplace (Heffernan, 2016). In case of pregnancy, companies must implement policies for pregnant women stating that they will not be removed, disciplined or harassed in any way for being pregnant (Feigenbaum, 2016). Women who take career breaks for their children should not be penalised but given flexible hours and/or the freedom to work from home as long as the deadlines are met, especially in the childrearing years (Economist, 2014).

- EDUCATION POLICIES

Education does not only impart knowledge but also, builds the foundation towards promoting equality. Education should fight against any kind of discrimination, oppose all stereotypes and ideas which project incorrect values and ideologies (Rodriguez,). Children from a very young age are influenced by society and its perceptions of what is feminine and masculine. These ideas are strongly embedded in their minds and cause traditional perception of gender roles (Heffernan, 2016). It is important for leadership to be groomed at a young age; during school years, most of the leadership and authoritative roles are given to the boys which is what gets engraved in the children’s minds as a norm for men to be the leaders and women followers. In order to change the perception of a women’s role in society, is to change the values provided to children at a young age (Sasiwimon, 2014). The roles given need not